Remnants of the Past
by ClockWork369
Summary: Steve Burnside, a man from the past, thought to have died years ago. Now, he's back, wanting to return to his old life. However, it's all too obvious that it's impossible, but maybe, he can return to the one he loves.
1. Ch 1 Rebirth

Author's Note: Hello to anyone who follows my stories. I wanted to write this story before releasing the sequel to my previous series, "I AM HUMAN." Similar to how I had three stories to come together to make that, I wanted to write this story so things make a little more sense in it. If this is the first of my stories that you have read, I recommend checking out "I AM HUMAN" first, if not, go ahead and read.

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, I'm just one of many fans who likes to write stories about it. Enjoy!

* * *

Nothing exists. The black void is all that appears for him now. His last moments seemed like an eternity, his life flashed before his eyes, but it was much shorter than most. He was cut down, not even in his prime yet, left alone to experience a nightmare that was all too real. However, he feels as though the price he paid was worth what he did, yet he can't remember why. He feels as though it was the most important decision in his life, so how can he not remember what is was. In the end, he guesses it doesn't matter now. It looks as though there's nothing to look forward to, nothing but darknest. Void, empty, lifeless, darkness…, except for a light.

He looks out to the only known direction in this realm, towards a single glimmer. He reaches out with whatever control he has of his being, his hand now visible in this void. He tries to move, now feeling his weight dropping, his feet coming to a floor that wasn't there before. Each step makes an echo, one that doesn't stop, adding more and more sound. The light seems to stay the same despite how far he goes. Suddenly, he feels a sharp pain in his chest, as if a sword was thrusted through him. He clings to his chest, waiting for the pain to subside, but it only gets worse. The light begins to dim, and fear now pushes him forward. These feelings, he thought he lost them, but now they're back, all the more reason to keep running.

Suddenly, the light grows brighter as he runs faster and faster. With all his might, despite the ever growing pain, he goes faster than he ever has, regardless if he can remember any time before. The light eclipses the darkness as it grows. He trips, falling to the ground from the pain, but the light still shines brighter and brighter. It overtakes his sight as he hears the ringing now, a scream coming from the new world, his screaming. With what he can tell , he can feel people struggling to hold him down. He feels himself crash to the floor as whatever was holding him gives way. He backs away as fast as possible with whatever control he has, stopping as he hits the corner of a wall. He shields his eyes from the light, being too bright to handle. He sits there, motionless now, waiting for any danger to subside. Suddenly, he can hear a soft whisper, something he felt like he hasn't heard in ages.

"Hey," the voice asks, "are you alright?"

The voice is as gentle as possible to help calm him down. In that moment, his fear begins to decline, not instant, but enough for him too scan his surroundings. He finds himself within, what appears to be, an operating room, the table he rested on was on the floor. A small group of people in white attire surround him, a few of them begin standing up after being knocked to the floor. He looks to his hands and finds himself without clothes, his skin covered in sweat. He looks up to see who was talking to him, a woman, wearing the same white attire. She turns to the others saying "Bring him some clothes." Two people from the group leave to do so as she turns back to him.

"Sir," she returns to her quiet voice, "do… do you remember who you are?"

The man looks to her for guidance, something to tell him what's going on, but it's evident that he won't get any help. In an instant, a throbbing pain hits him, causing him to clench his forehead in pain. As quick as it appears, it vanishes, as if to give him something. In that moment, with what strength he has, he says what was given to him.

"S-Steve… Burnside," his voice raspy from a lack of water.

The woman turns to the others, "prepare the interrogation room, and help this man get dressed."

As she leaves to prepare for something, the remaining members help Steve stand back up, placing him back on the table. The two return with some plain white clothes. Try as he might, he is unable to move as the people dress him and give him much needed water. When they finish, they all stand back, waiting for him to move. Steve sees that they want a reaction, so he tries to stand. In an instant, he collapses, bracing himself with his arms. As they try and help him up, he musters up enough strength to stop them, gesturing for them not to help. Within a few minutes, he begins to rise up, letting his legs get use to holding his weight as he leans on the table for support. Not long after, he's finally able to stand and walk with purpose.

A man of the group leads Steve out of the room and takes him through the door. Outside, there's nothing to see. The walls are lined with white panellings and ceiling lights on top, that's it. There are no windows, no other doors, no signs, just a long, white hallway. Finally, after about a minute or so of walking, the hallway comes to a dead end. The man gestures for Steve to stand in front of him, he does so. Suddenly, the ceiling above shows a wall sliding down between them. Steve tries to move, but it comes between them too fast and locks him in the small places. He stands there for a moment, waiting for something to happen, an indication of what's happening. Suddenly, he feels something, something he hasn't felt before. He looks to the wall and places his hand on it. To anyone else, it would have seemed as if the room is still, but Steve, somehow, can tell that it's moving down like an elevator, but at much faster speeds. Within moments, he feels the elevator room stop, how he can, he doesn't know.

The door opens, back into the ceiling, showing what looks like the same hallway, but he knows better. Without many options, Steve begins walking, seeing another dead end on the other side. He decides to wait by the wall until something happens. As predicted, the wall goes up into the ceiling to reveal a small room, a simple table and two chairs, all white. Before he's able to decide whether he should walk in, a voice plays over the area, no intercom or anything, telling him "walk into the room, please."

Steve decides to listen to the voice and walks in, taking a seat in one of the chairs. In moments, the same woman from before walks in, holding a clipboard and a pen. After taking her seat, she begins talking to him.

"Do you understand me, Mr. Burnside?"

Steve sits there for a moment, struggling to answer her, as if something is restricting him, even things as casual as talking.

"Y-yes…, but please, Steve is fine."

"Ok," she makes a note on that, "my apologies. I wish to keep this profession. Now, I will ask you some simple questions. Once we're done, you will be taken to your room for observation."

"C-can I ask… a question?" Steve asks.

"Of course," she replies, "but let's keep it short."

"Where am I? W-who are you people?"

"I'm afraid I can't say for now. But, I will tell you that my name is Cynthia, and I'll be working with you often."

Steve takes the time to memorize her face. She has black hair with a braided ponytail and pale skin. Other than that, nothing else stood out. Her clothes were all white, just a simple long sleeved shirt and pants. Suddenly, his vision begins to blur for a moment. However, in that instance, he sees things, horrifying things. He sees a monster, gruesome and terrifying, but his face was almost like its. While it's body was massive, spiked, and green, the face had few changes. He sees it attack a woman, and soon, a name comes, Claire. He puts his head down for a moment, trying to collect himself. Cynthia becomes concerned. "Are you alright, what's wrong?!"

"Tell me," he begins to say as he looks back to her. "Tell me… what happened to me? I want to know."

Cynthia moves her hand to her ear, tapping on a concealed white piece. She waits a few moments before stopping and saying "I understand, I'll tell him."

"Mr. Burnside," she begins, "let me explain. You see, you… died."

The shock of hearing those words send waves of memories back to him. The island, the undead, Alfred and his monsters. What feels like an eternity is only mere moments, but it's enough to snap him out of it in that instant.

"Mr. Burnside, you were part of an incident on Rockfort Island. You were a prisoner there, but you escaped. You came into contact with a woman named Claire Redfield and managed to escape with her help. Unfortunately, you were pursued by the being known formerly as Alexia Ashford. In the event, she infected you with the T-Veronica virus, ending your normal existence. I can't say more, but what I can tell you is that we revived you. And, we wish to help you any way we can."

Most of what she said went over his head the moment she mentioned Claire Redfield.

 _Claire… Claire…_

From what he can remember, she's telling the truth, but with her lack of detail about who she is or what this facility is, he'll have to roll with it for mow.

"So," he replies, "what does this mean for me?"

"We wish to do what we can to help, but in the event that your… condition… is beyond our help, we wish to give you a second chance."

"A second chance at what?"

From behind him, the wall opens with a voice answering him. "To make a difference."

Steve turns to see an aged man, appearing as though his time should have been up by now, yet here he is, walking strong, without a cane or any sign of enhanced limbs. He looks Steve over for a moment, noticing the slight, green hue to his skin. "Amazing," he marvels at his appearance. "You might be the most human yet, Mr. Burnside."

Steve is taken aback by that response, realizing something. "There are others?" he asks.

"Oh, yes, you are not the first. And like them, we are giving you a choice to be of some… assistance? No, maybe… service? It's hard to find the right word for it."

"What do you want with me?"

"You can't feel it, yet, but you're getting stronger. Your body is slowly recovering, far beyond human limits. Mr. Burnside, we want to help you as best we can, but we feel we deserve something in return."

Steve finally realizes what he means to do with him. "You want to use me as a weapon, just like those freaks and monsters."  
The man appears shocked by this assumption. "NO, no no no, of course not. We have no intention of using you for any personal game."

The man looks to Cynthia, gesturing her to move out of her seat. He takes the chair and looks to Steve.

"Mr. Burnside, Steve, we want you to help us stop such terrorists groups and extremists. We are known as _Entity_."

Cynthia tries to stop him, but the man raises his hand to her, a sign that he knows what he's saying.

"As I was saying, our purpose is to capture and contain such incidence. However, at the moment, we wish to remain in the shadows, hiding ourselves from the public, at least our true purpose, and stop these incidence from spreading. Even as we speak, new operations are being created to counteract such incidence. Unfortunately, they have no means of helping people, like yourself, at such points, relying solely on fire power. We are developing the technology to cure you, and all others we find. As for your cooperation, we wish for you to help us, something of a _temporary super soldier_ , until we can properly treat the infected and infected areas."

At the moment, Steve is trying to comprehend what he's asking for, almost lost for words or any response. "Let me get this straight," Steve replies, "you want me to help your forces stop viral outbreaks, and in return, you'll cure me and everyone else."

"To be more accurate, we will cure you regardless. We have many reasons for such an arrangement. You can help strengthen our small forces, record data that can be of use for our research into vaccines, and allow you the opportunity to be part of a better future, instead of simply staying here, behind these walls. We rather not imprison you, but we can't just let you go about your days like nothing has happened. This way, you can help us, help yourself, help the ones you love."

In truth, Steve understands fully well what he means now. It's either spend his days behind these walls, god knows how long, or help make a difference on the outside. The thought of those he loves leaves him with faint images of a woman, someone that he cares for deeply, even if he can't remember who she was.

 _...Claire_

He sits there for a long time, the two waiting as long as necessary for an answer. He finally does.

"You're trying to help me through this unknown journey, right?"

"Of course, my young friend."

"...Alright, I'll do it. I just want to know one thing."

"What is it?"

"Who's Claire Redfield?"


	2. Ch 2 The First Day

Steve sleeps in a dark room, his senses dulled by something in the air, a gas of some sort. He only knows this because the gas dissipates enough for him to realize it. It's as if it was keeping him asleep, to ensure he doesn't act out or experience mutations in the night. At least, that's what they told him it was for.

After the discussion, they took him to special quarters made for mutates like him. Like everything else in the facility, it was the only room in a long hallway.

"I'm guessing you guys think the simpler it is, the more advanced and civilized it seems, right?" he asked with obvious sarcasm on how everything looks the same.

"Believe me, Mr. Burnside," Cynthia responded, "it's far more complex than what you can perceive, even with your heightened senses."

With that, Steve was shown to a very simple room: one bed, drawers for clothing, a small desk with a small pad on top of it, and a lamp.

As Steve entered the room, he turned back to her with obvious questions. "So… is there a bathroom or…?" He found no response to his question as the door closed. Cynthia spoke through an intercom from an unknown area of the room. "For now, relax. Once we go through the routine tomorrow, you'll know what to do for certain requirements."

Before leaving, Cynthia told him about the gas, which brings us to now, Steve disorientated, trying to wake himself up from an induced-deep sleep. As he wakes himself up, he realizes his clothes have changed, however, they looked exactly the same as the other pair. As before, his heightened senses are the only reason he noticed, the new pair having a different scent. He paces around the room, waiting for a response, any indication of what to do, but nothing came. The thoughts of what they have planned for him go through his mind. Is he to fight in war zones with these creatures or take stealth missions? What would he have to do to any civilian who notices him? More and more pile up at the thought of his life now, but what other choices were there? It's simple, he helps them and they help him, who knows, maybe he'll even have the chance for vengeance against the people responsible for infecting him.

Finally, the door opens, but only at the bottom, enough to allow a tray of food to enter. The food was set in five sections, just masses of proteins, carbs, fats, all the essentials without any appetizing features. "Of course they have this space-age crap," he mutters under his breath.

At the end of one of the tray's corners, a note was attached to it.

* * *

 _Mr. Burnside,_

 _We apologize for any delays in today's routines. We've needed to ready the testing grounds and change the schedule for your involvement in our research. For now, eat, and I'll arrive shortly to begin._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Cynthia_

 _P.S. My superiors would like for you to refrain from mentioning "Claire," for psychological reasons._

* * *

With that, Steve wolfs down his food, ignoring any artificial taste and any other displeasing aspects. As promised, Cynthia arrives not long after. He follows her out of the room into, what was the hallway, a small space, enough for two people. As the door closes, Steve asks Cynthia a question. "Out of curiosity, how are you doing that?"

"Like this," she replies, hitting a small button on the tablet she holds in her hands. The walls give way to glass panels that reveal the mechanisms of the structure, cubic nodes changing every second, moving constantly. Steve looks through the gasps of each moving cube to see the facility as a whole, rooms surrounded by the same glass paneling, each with different tests happening. Although he can't tell what each test was for, he's still amazed by the sight. At the edge of his field of vision, he notices a familiar room, his room, next to a great deal of others, each holding a different person, as far as he can tell. However, his room was separate from the rest of theirs for some reason.

The walls return, as well as the motionless feeling, it's amazing that there's very little motion, despite the speeds they're moving at. The door opens to a large arena-like room, enough to hold 3 five-story buildings. Cynthia looks to Steve. "This is the training ground. We will assess your skill level to estimate your required training."

"Okay," he replies questionably, "but what do I do?"

"Whatever you feel is possible. If you feel that your state becomes unstable, say it out loud. We will respond and ensure nothing goes wrong."

With that, the door closes, and Steve is left to walk to the center of the room, feeling as though he should. While most would think there are cameras in the room, he can sense that people are watching him directly from a one-way mirror. At the very top of the room, said mirror hides the number of scientists huddled around it, waiting for the tests to begin. Behind them, a man stands over a number of panels, reaching a knob labeled "stage 1" and activates it. In the arena, Steve witnesses a turret, rising out of the floor from an open panel. It fires off a test round into the air, launching a softball-sized ball. At first, he thinks nothing too much of it. Without warning, it sends a shot at him, hitting him dead center in the chest and sends him flying back ten feet, the ball hitting the floor with a great thud, as he does. Before he's able to stand, speakers sound off with one of the scientists. "Fair warning, each one is denser than a bowling ball with the same mass, traveling as fast as a pitch. Now, let's begin."

Now being more prepared, Steve does his best dodging each ball, stepping side to side, sprinting to either direction, even doing inhuman speed bursts. With each second, the difficulty increases, but so far, he's able to keep up. "Impressive," the lead spectator announces to the others. "He's already showing some control of his agility, but let's see how he adapts to his more super-human aspects." He gestures to the scientist over the panels to increase the difficulty by two. With that, he sets the knob to "stage 3."

Inside the arena, the turret retracts, leaving Steve fairly exhausted. Before he could ask anything, a new set of turrets arise. To him, they appear to be average gun turrets, but they wouldn't simply shoot at him with real bullets now, right? His doubts were erased as it fired, hitting him straight in the arm. He lets out a grunt in pain and turns to the top. "We warned you before" was the only answer before the turrets continued. At first, he panics and tries to avoid them as best he could. Suddenly, he begins to realize something, he can see the bullets clearly. Within a fraction of a second, he somehow has more time to respond to the onslaught, that being said, he's still hit a few more times. In the chaos, he suddenly sees the blood around his arms and on the floor ignite, setting off a small explosion before becoming flames. With what little time available to him, he starts dashing closer to the turrets. In a split second, he allows his arms to take a few shots to allow blood to flow out, flinging it onto the turrets. They burst into flames, ending the hail of bullets, giving him a chance to recuperate. Steve kneels down to the ground, attempting to cover his arms. However, with a quick glance, he sees the wounds healing, spitting out the bullets before closing.

What's left of the turrets return into the floor. Steve gets back up, awaiting another onslaught, but nothing happens. The door where he entered opens up, showing the same old man he met before. As the man walks to him, he gives a slow clap of recognition. "Very impressive, Mr. Burnside. Your body is taking the changes well, and your responses are flawless."

Steve stares at him for a moment, amazed they would go this far on the first day. "What the hell is wrong you?! You went from zero to a hundred like that?!"

"Technically, that was one to three, but it does go to a hundred."

"BUT LOOK, my body is…," Steve is cut off by the man.

"Is perfectly fine. No injuries remain, no scars, and you even used your own natural weapons to your advantage."

Steve is still wary of him, but understands he has a point. He doesn't feel any pain now, and was far easier than anticipated.

"Mr. Burnside," the man continues. "We want to help you as soon as possible, but we must also deal with the threats present in the world. The sooner you're ready for that, the sooner we can help both you and the world. We apologize for this accelerated training, but we must be ready soon. For now, we'll continue to the rest of the schedule. It's nothing too complicated, simple protocol around the facility and activity, a few more exercises."

Steve, despite what happened, sees that nothing bad came from this. They are well aware of any basic limits, like regeneration, and plan to take full responsibility for anything that gets out of hand.

"Mr. Burnside," he asks, "this will be difficult, can we trust that you understand what we're trying to do?"

For now, Steve agrees to what he's saying. "Alright, I guess if it's to help me control this. Just one question. I never got your name, what is it?"

"Oh, forgive me, it must have slipped my mind in our first meeting. You can call me Dr. Verden."


	3. Ch 3 First Assignment

Since that day, Steve has gone through the routine for a few weeks now. Breakfast in the morning, quick physical training to wake up the body, review of the facility, it's lay out and staff, lunch, greater training, and medical observation for any changes in the mutations, simple. During this time, he had been given a black bodysuit, with parts of the shirt and pant sleeves removed, leaving large bands around his hands and feet with gaps on his arms and calves. This design, they told him, was so to limit the damage to the suit if it were necessary for him to use his abilities, something else that took a great deal of training. He has had to rely more and more on his super human abilities, such as strength, speed, and combustible blood, without allowing the mutations to take hold. In this time, his mutations have been limited to spikes protruding from his shoulders and increased height. All this was to prepare him for his first mission, an outbreak within a small town down in Argentina.

He was given the necessary supplies before he was taken to the strike team he was working with. He was given a communication earpiece to stay in contact with his team, a small handgun if necessary, and restriction bands, said to be laced with tranquilizer strong enough to bring down an elephant, or any large hostiles that needed to be studied or could be cured. He was briefed by Cynthia about the incident and was sent to his team.

As the elevator comes to a stop, he is greeted by a massive hanger containing countless vehicles for flight, ground, even underwater. Across the room, he sees his team waiting for him next to a large cargo helicopter. They all turn to him, their faces hidden behind helmets with full coverage so that none of them could be recognized, all except for one of them. Steve notices the man behind the rest of them, his helmet resting under his arm, revealing a plethora of scars all over his faces. As Steve comes closer, he's physically dwarfed by the man as he steps forwards.

"So," he begins with a gruff voice, "you're the 'new guy,' right?"

"Yes Commander," Steve replies, standing straight as he answers.

"At ease, you may refer to me as Captain or Sir. Here's how this works. This will be a to team mission. My team and I will search for survivors while yours deals with any unique B.O.W.s, any that aren't seen in mass are to be considered unique and must be captured using that toy of yours," he gestures to the bands he's holding. "If your team encounter survivors, one of the men will mark the location for us. You are to leave anyone you find, only capture specimens, are we clear?"

"Yes Sir," Steve replies.

After boarding the aircraft, it takes off at greater speeds thought possible by any of its type, showing how Entity has improved upon it. For Steve though, it's a silent ride. Strangely, the windows were blacked out, leaving it impossible to see through them. Steve has become accustomed to the sociable scientists, people like Cynthia, but he doesn't find the same ease with the soldiers. He attempts to talk to one of them. "How much farther to the target?" He gets no response from any of them. It takes a while before the Captain answers him, and then some. "We're approximately thirty minutes away. And for your information, you're not getting a response out of them, trust me."

Upon closer inspection, Steve notices how lifeless they actually act, sitting in position while holding their guns the exact same way between each of them, as if they weren't human. "Sir, what's wrong with them?" he asks his Captain.

"Nothing, they were just made to follow orders."

In that moment, Steve feels as though he's taken a hit to his head before the Captain continues.

"Relax, these are just synthetics."

"Synthetics?" Steve asks.

"It means they were grown and programmed. This way, we don't have to risk losing lives on missions like these."

Steve finds this hard to believe, seeing Entity create such beings. He is well aware of the advantages and moral reasoning behind it, but the thought of artificial humans doesn't sit right with him.

For the rest of the ride, it was silent. Steve found this all too nerve racking. He wasn't sure whether it was the thought of these _Synthetics,_ or the risk of hurting people if he loses any control. However, he's given little chance to calm himself as they begin to descend. Suddenly, the windows clear, the blackened state actually removed by some technology. He could see the flames in the distance, a small town, overtaken by the chaotic destruction. Amid this, the people are seen fleeing, some of which show no care or fear of death, just congregating around each other, the sign of the undead. For Steve, he feels as though if it were many years since he has seen them, their rotten faces and ravenous hunger. How little time it has actually been.

The sight is overtaken by the trees as the cargo helicopter lands a few hundred meters away. Without delay, the Captain orders the men out of the vehicle as he secures his helmet. They split between two sides, one to the Captain, the other to Steve, just as he planned. "Here's the plan," the Captain begins, "Team A, us, will head to the most populated section of the town. Once on location, we'll secure and protect any survivors present. Team B, who will arrive shortly, will come in to tend to and fly out the survivors to nearby cities, as well as set up a perimeter around said cities to ensure any B.O.W.s won't spread out. Finally, Team C, your team, will enter from the opposite side from us, where there should be few survivors left, and contain any unique specimens or signs of how the virus spreaded. Any questions?" He looks to Steve solely, knowing he's the only one who could. He gives no response as a sign of understanding, and they split.

Steve and his team begin to long journey to circle the town and find a way in. Many of the paths are blocked off by fires or debris from the cars and buildings. An hour later, they find a path in, just as the sun begins to set on the horizon and the night comes. The fire in the area died down, enough to allow entrance into the city and begin the search. For Steve, it's all too calm for him. Before, he would be finding cover, anyway to survive and escape detection. However, his new instincts tell him there's no danger present, a sign of his mutation, feeling less human. Throughout their search, all they find are the dead, walking or not, too damaged to charge or make any great effort to attack, leaving the soldiers to pick them off as they go. As for survivors, it seems like no one made it if they stayed in the area. Suddenly, Steve stops as he sees something standing on top of a pile up of crashed cars. He and the soldiers take cover as whatever it is turns in their direction. It crawls down on all fours from the pile and starts sniffing the air. Steve takes a chance and looks towards it from behind a corner. It appears to be a person, but it's skin is very dark and grey, the hands and feet being pushed out of the arms and legs by something. Suddenly, it catches their scent and goes for them.

As it outstretches its arms, the hands fall out as large tendrils extend, hooking around the corners and grabbing two of the soldiers. It bashes them against each other, causing blood to splatter. The rest of the team begin to attack, using harpoon-like hooks on their guns to take hold of the creature as they shoot out and hook into its skin. Steve stays on the side at the ready if things take a turn. Suddenly, the creature begins to spasm as more tendrils rip through the body, the head splits open with teeth growing from it, becoming a large mouth. With great force, it pulls the ropes towards it, sending some soldiers flying towards it, one landing straight onto the maul as it bites down and rips the soldier apart. Finally, Steve takes action and charges. The creature notices him and sends out a whip strike of its tendrils. The attack cuts his left arm, sending small spurts of blood around him and on the tendril. As it retracts, the blood combusts, causing the creature pain and loss of focus. Steve takes his chance and charges at it, tackling it to the ground and using the bands he was given. As he stretches it over the creatures neck, it jolts as if it were being shocked. Soon, the remaining soldiers help to subdue it, using the ropes to bind the it sedated, one soldier stays behind to guard it as the rest and Steve continue on.

* * *

By now, it has been 2 hours, Steve's team have been searching non stop, with only the first creature being unique enough. He's contacted by the Captain, reporting that it's time to head to the rendezvous point near the center of the town. The plan is to use the chopper that lands at the point to take back any unique specimens. Steve reports about the one unique and leads his team to the point. The Captain's team arrive first and he uses this chance to shoot a flare, signaling to Steve's team where to meet. They are not far off and rush over. However, the ground begins to shake, stopping the team with its quakes. Without warning, a large, worm-like monster, with tendrils lining its mouth with sharp teeth, bursts through the concrete and takes out almost all of them, except for Steve.

The creature's attack sends him flying while the rest are devoured. As he regains his footing, he turns to see it lunge for him. With his enhanced speed, he dodges and uses his gun to shoot at the creature. However, the bullets bounce off its thick skin. It raises its head up again and strikes. This time, as it hits the ground, Steve jumps onto it and looks for a weak point. As it moves up, Steve grips it with all his strength. The tips of his fingers begin to sprout large claws, allowing him to hook onto it. It thrashes about, bashing into the nearby buildings. It hits Steve into one of the buildings, causing him to lose his grip. As he falls, it lunges for him, scooping him into its mouth. The chopper takes off, now hovering over the carnage. The Captain looks down for any sign of him. As he spots the worm, something begins to happen. It begins spazzing out of control, slamming into the ground and anything around it. From behind its head, Steve rips his way through the flesh and pulls himself out as the creature falls to the floor. Covered in blood, his skin much greener and more spikes protruding, he begins to calm down, letting the mutations die down. He's soon back to normal and sits atop the worm.

The Captain throws down a rope for him to climb to the helicopter. As he enters, he notices that the Captain and one soldier are the only ones left of his team. "What happened?" Steve asks.

"Things didn't work out as planned. But like I said, this is why we use the synthetics on such small teams."

Steve almost forgot that they weren't real people after the time they spent on the mission, all the more worrisome that he wasn't phased by the deaths. After capturing the specimen, they head back to the facility, the windows becoming darkened to hide the facilities wearabouts to them, or Steve more accurately. With that, he logs back in and is debriefed on the mission. He walks back to his room, now accustomed to the ever shifting elevators. However, something doesn't sit right with him. Before, he could hear the helicopter come to the extraction point, but he never noticed any other choppers for the survivors. He convinces himself that there might not have been anyone left. This was his first mission. One of many that he would have.


	4. Ch 4 The Savage

Author Note: Contains characters from another of my stories.

* * *

Some years have passed, Steve finds his place in the facility all but certain. His attire has changed to a sleeveless vest shirt with a long, dark-blue coat with matching pants. He has become stronger, somewhat muscular, but still has a shin frame, his hair has grown much longer and his mutations few and far between, all except for the red, lizard-like left eye. He has become accustomed to the many missions he has been given, most with different leaders and soldiers. The majority consist of specimen capture and rescue. However, the more he does, the less he understands. Little to none of his missions have seen survivors make it out, much like his first mission. The few instances saw backup landing on the sight, nothing else. He sits in his room, contemplating if any mission saw survivors, or if he could see these perimeter sights he was told about on his first mission. However, he has no time as the room light changes, signaling for him to report to the hanger.

Like many times now, he has no trouble reaching it, knowing the elevators like the back of his hand. For most, it would seem like an impossible puzzle, but for Steve, it's all about knowing what floor he's on. Without delay, he comes to the end of a corridor as a wall rises behind him. As the elevator moves down, it suddenly stops, well, he knows it stopped sooner than expected, but anyone else wouldn't have noticed. He can hear the scientists through the wall, his ears allowing him to pick up on whatever they talk about most of the time.

"This is a risky mission for him," he hears Cynthia, recognizing her voice, talking to someone else. "This isn't like the unpredictable creatures he comes across, it's… him. He might not be ready."

The Elevator door opens as she finishes speaking with the male scientist. "Mr. Burnside," he says, "do to the case of this… unique mission, we have special instructions for you."

They enter the elevator with him, the walls expanding to accommodate the new people. As it continues on its descent, the male scientist continues as well. "You are being called in to enter a mission in progress. We thought the teams we sent were enough, but things took a turn for the worse."

"What happened?" Steve replies.

"The mission was an attempted capture of a rogue specimen. What's unique about him is that he still retains consciousness, not to the same degree as yourself though. He acts feral, having incredible strength and durability, fending off our attempts to help him. We hope that you will be able to sedate him, long enough for the new teams to contain him."

Steve is confused by this mission. He's not dealing with a mindless creature, it's a person who's still alive inside. "Professor," he says, "wouldn't it make more sense if I tried to communicate with him, tell him that we're trying to help?"

"I'm afraid not," the scientist replies. "He's beyond our help, unfortunately. He's been in this state for years, any attempts to cure him now would kill him. Even if we could, we would need to study him, as it's rare for any basic vaccine to work on such unique individuals with differing physiology, that's why we're still attempting to cure you, Mr. Burnside. Besides, he may be conscious, but he's far too… damaged… to help him any further. The only option now is to contain him, or even give him mercy. We will leave that to you, Mr. Burnside, if it seems he's far too dangerous to transport safely."

Steve tries to collect his thoughts with such a choice. Through many nights, he has had many nightmares, flashes of his last moments before his "death," acting like a crazed animal. To be in such a state for years sounds like torture. However, to mercy kill someone like himself seems inhumane. That being said, it would be far too dangerous to ignore such a threat. As the elevator opens to the hanger, he turns to the two. "I'll do what needs to be done, you have my word."

While the male scientist is glad to hear his cooperation, Cynthia is far less pleased by the comment. Steve heads over to the small helicopter waiting for him, something for quick deployment, and it takes off. The windows blacken, like all the other times, keeping the whereabout of the facility secret from Steve. He begins thinking about this process, realizing he's never seen any door leading to the outside, not once on his many missions, but these thoughts soon return to the mission at hand, stopping however _he_ is.

Within hours, the helicopter windows finally clear, showing the blue night sky over a pine forest. Steve was never told about the location, only that he needs to find the last known coordinates of the previous teams. The pilot turns to him, signaling it's time to drop, pointing at a nearby parachute. However, Steve opens the door, letting the raging winds come and screams to the pilot "DON'T WORRY, I WON'T NEED IT!"

He jumps out of the helicopter and falls down to the forest. Within moments of entering the tree line, he aims for the largest branches and uses them to break his fall. He allows himself to fall pass it and catch it with his hands, snapping it off, but slowing him down enough to land without too much trouble. He hits the forest floor with a thud, the soft earth cushioning his entry. "Say what you will, there are definitely benefits to being a mutate," he mutters to himself.

He tries to raise any of the teams on the communicator in his ear. "Capture Team, this is Burnside, do you copy? … Rescue Team, this is Burnside, do you copy? … This is Burnside, does anyone copy, is anyone left?" He gets no answer.

Suddenly, something triggers in him. Of all the missions he has been on, every dangerous scenario, none have given him such a warning, an instinctual need to flee from incoming danger. He becomes paranoid as something in the forest approaches, the scent of blood becomes heavy in the air as it comes closer. Without delay, he climbs to the top of one of the many trees and presses himself against the trunk, getting within enough cover as possible to hide from whatever is coming. As he clutches his forehead, he sweats profusely, like the air was suddenly so dense, it's hard to breath. He takes in deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves, but his new senses are far less manageable, something that humans have lost over the years. Finally, the being makes itself known as it wanders into view, appearing oblivious to Steve. Steve peeks below the branches to see, what he believes, is the target. He appears to be a very large man, far stronger and bigger than Steve. He wears ragged, torn clothing, caked with dirt and fresh blood. He wears a large hood, making it almost impossible to see the face, masking any identifiable features. Behind him, he drags the body of a soldier from one of the teams, taking it out of the area.

Against his instincts, Steve follows him from the treetops, hopping from tree to tree, making as little noise as possible. The figure goes on for about a mile, until he stops in front of a large cliff with a narrow path at the bottom. As Steve gets a better view, he sees the carnage that unfolded. Piles of bodies, all the other soldiers and teams, litter the bottom of the cliff, acting like a dumping pit, limbs thrown all around and torsos split in half. The figure tosses the body down with the rest of them. Suddenly, he stops moving, staring down at the pile below. Steve is confused by his actions. He tries to move down while his back is turned to get a better view. He immediately hides again as the figure turns around instantly. Steve ducks behind the tree, hoping he wasn't seen. However, as he turns back around, he finds the figure to be gone. Without warning, as he turns back, he sees him jump into the trees as the figure punches him in the face, knocking him down to the ground.

As Steve regains his balance, the figure wastes no time and lands right on top of him, pinning him on his back. He beings socking him in the face, breaking several teeth and his nose. As the blood flows, it ignites, causing the figure to jump back as his fist catches fire. He beings flawling about, trying to put out the fire, giving Steve the chance to get up. He stumbles as he tries to move, but Steve manages to recover and heads for him. He socks the figure in the face, bringing his focus back to him. As Steve tries to land a second punch, the figure catches his fist, crushing it with immense strength, causing Steve to scream in agony. He lets go of his hand and grabs him by the leg, now tossing him into the air and slamming him into the ground and into a tree as he lets go. Steve struggles to get up, only to receive a blow to the chest, hearing a massive crash. As he looks down, he sees the figure's fist go straight through his chest and into the tree. He coughs up a blood from his mouth, hitting the floor. The blood ignites again, causing the creature to pull away, leaving a massive hole in Steve's chest.

Steve slumps to the ground, barely alive, surrounded by fire. The figure puts out the flames immediately and stares down at him. Steve can barely see him, feeling utter pain that should have killed him, but it didn't. The figure takes pause before deciding to walk away, leaving Steve to bleed out.

His vision becomes blurry, darkness begins to fade in, the same feeling as before many years ago. He feels that same empty void, but it's different. He can feel someone else's presence, a woman. He feels as though in water, so he begins moving closer to her, her figure glowing in the void. The name comes back to him.

 _Claire… is that Claire?_

He was told to forget about that person, forget about that name, but he clings to it still, something that keeps him safe. As soon as it started, it ended. He awakens from his coma, the pain shooting into him as he leans up, clutching his chest. What blood was left dried up, leaving small marks on his face, the hole closed up, but the pain still present. He manages to stand up, using the tree for leverage. He sees the hole the creature put into it, giving him pause.

"Jesus, to be able to do that…"

Without too much delay, he finds the figure's trail and follows, hoping to find it and call in more teams.

"They're right, he's too dangerous to leave like this."

He finds the place where he first came into in the forest and continues from where the figure came from. At first, he was prepared to take him down, keep him from hurting people. He couldn't have prepared for what he saw next. Within another hour, he finds himself pass the tree line to find the strangest thing, a small log cabin home, candle lamps visible in the windows. As he comes pass the tree line, the figure comes out from the front door. Steve tries to move, but a sudden jolt of pain takes him down as he clutches his chest again. He can only look up as the figure looms over him. As he brings his hands up to kill him, Steve hears a voice from behind the figure.

" _Savage, ostanovis', pozhaluysta."_

As the figure turns, Steve manages to see who called to him, a young woman holding a small child in her hands. She appears to be in her early twenties or younger, having long, black hair and wearing a plain dress. The child only about a year or two old if he can guess, having large, grey eyes, no pupils or anything else visible, and spiky, black hair, wearing a small shirt and overalls. The figure, which Steve gathered to be named _Savage,_ looks between him and the woman before listening to her and backs away. She runs over and kneels down next to Steve, looking at him with shock and intrigue. " _You… infect… like us_ ," she says in broken English. Steve begins moving up and leans against the tree to better talk to her.

"Who are you people?" he asks with obvious confusion. Moments ago, he thought this Savage was a mindless killer, now he doesn't know what to think. The woman gives the child to Savage, who holds it with great care. She does her best to communicate with Steve, making it obvious that English isn't her native language.

" _Me… Allison. This… my family. Husband… Savage. Son… Henry… Havoc."_

"What are you doing out here?" Steve asks.

" _We come… from island, home… death, nothing left. We come here… find new life. You… like us, why fight?"_

"I… I was sent here to stop him."

With that, Savage puts the child down and grabs Steve by the throat. Allison stops him before he tries to kill him.

" _Savage, pozvol' yemu pogovorit'. On pokhozh na nas."_

" _On pokhozh na ostal'nykh,"_ he says to her. " _Oni ne ostavyat nas v pokoye, yesli ya ne ub'yu yego."_

" _Savage,"_ she replies, " _posmotri na nego. On dolzhen byt' plennikom. My mogli by pomoch' drug drugu. Pozhaluysta dlya menya."_

Suddenly, a gust of wind blows in passed them, pushing Savage's hood off. Steve couldn't look away as he saw the damage. The entire left side of his face appeared melted, sealing over where an eye should be. His right was like that of the child's, who's now gripping onto his pant leg. Savage finally puts Steve down and picks the child back up. Allison continues.

" _We… want peace. You, prisoner… away from loved ones. We help… each of us… freedom."_

Steve stares between them. He can see they haven't had an easy life, the scars of conflict were evident, both figuratively, and all too literal. He didn't see a savage animal or mindless infected, he saw honest people who wanted to be left alone. The thought of being separate from loved ones clouded his mind with images again, much clearer now. He can see the woman again in more detail. Her long, red hair, her flawless skin, and a courageous attitude. He almost forgot about the people he was looking at. Savage soon hands the child back to Allison before confronting Steve, helping him back onto his feet. He speaks to him in a deep voice.

" _Either help… or leave."_

Before Steve could answer, a call comes into his ear piece. "Agent Burnside, is the target still in the area, report. Repeat, is it still in the area, report."

"The target is gone, the other teams are dead, and I have no way of tracking it," Steve replies.

Savage looks to him with gratitude, but awaits his answer. Steve couldn't think about leaving Entity, after all they did for him, and what he has done for them. He's not a prisoner of theirs, right?

" _We… find new home… now. Come… with us?"_ she asks him.

He decides to leave for the evacuation point, leaving them to their fate, whatever it is. However, it becomes too evident of his lack of freedom as a satellite feed records the encounter and transmits back to Entity. Verden watches on from a small monitor, muttering to himself.

"What a shame. Oh well, time to put him with the rest."


	5. Ch 5 Cold Truth

The next day, Steve finds himself in a sorry state. After his encounter with Savage, nothing but contradictory thoughts and flashes plague his mind. Not only is he conflicted with the all too quiet and enclosing nature of Entity, the flashes grow more frequent, all showing the same woman, Claire. He was told to try and stop mentioning Claire, whoever she was to him, but that only succeeded to make the flashes more strong, pushing out more and more. He barely notices the alarm in his room, calling for him to meet up with Cynthia for something.

He was rarely called to see any of the scientists for the past couple years, more often bumping into them on his way to the hanger. As he walks out his door, he finds her waiting for him at the other end of the hallway. "Morning, Cynthia," he says to her, "does this have something to do with the mission?"

He tries to play off the feelings bottling up inside him, keeping his focus on whatever was around him. Cynthia replies to him. "Our lead researchers have been able to develop a cure for your infection."

Steve's heart skips a beat with that response. They have finally developed the necessary formula to remove his infectious mutations. Finally, he thinks, a chance to be able to live in the world again, hopefully never to see any of the viruses again. However, he fails to notice the apprehension in Cynthia's voice, a sign that she's not being honest. Whether it's his difficulty to focus with the flashes, or the excitement of the opportunity, his senses are blocked. "We're preparing the process in the room we're heading to. We want to take this time and warn you that it will be lengthy, but in the end, it should… it will work."

Steve is ready for whatever they have planned, as long as it will help him.

They reach the room in little time, seeing several scientists surrounding a large operating table. On it lies something of a device, a large harness lined with different tubing around it, all pointing to a large metal piece in the center. The lead scientist confronts Steve. "Ah, Mr. Burnside, perfect timing. We're just about ready to begin the procedure. However, we need to go over the guidelines first." He gestures for Steve to sit on the table while Cynthia joins the others, standing next to a scientist holding a tablet connected to the harness by a wire. "Now," the lead scientist holds up the harness and begins strapping it to Steve, "this device contains the fluid vaccine. For the procedure to work, it will be sent to several locations in your body for maximum effect. Note, they will pierce your body, so you will feel slight discomfort. However, the wounds will heal before the process is over so you won't suffer from any scars or injury. All we ask is that you remain as still and calm as possible during it. If you experience anything, and we mean _anything,_ allow it to happen. Are we clear?"

"Yes," Steve replies, "let's do this."

After the harness is attached, Steve lies back and allows the people to do what is necessary. The lead scientist looks to a hidden camera at the corner of the room, waiting for some sort of response to continue. With a single flash from it, he gestures to the man holding the tablet. It begins. Steve can feel his psyche going into a trans of a sort. He feels… constricted, but he was told this was to cure him, so he lets whatever happens… happen. Even in such a state, he still has flashes of the woman, Claire. Suddenly, they begin to fade as well. Her image fades as well, her very being, becoming separated from him. Suddenly, he starts fighting the process. In his mind, he tries moving towards her, taking hold of whatever he can of her. On the outside, it's a real struggle as his body begins to spasm with greater and greater force, forcing the scientists to strap him onto the table with restraints. The struggle to keep her images grows greater, making the fight outside even worse. His body begins to change like before, the spikes cutting the restraints, or even his muscles growing too large to contain. The lead scientist curses under his breath. "I told him not to struggle." He addresses the one holding the tablet, "up the dosage, we need him intact."

Before the scientist could comply, Cynthia takes the tablet and shuts down the process entirely. The lead scientist looks to her with an obvious glare showing his response, what the hell are you doing. However, even though the process stopped, Steve continues to fight, his frame growing too large until the table gives way. He's not fully transformed, but he has enough strength to rip off the harness and charge straight for the doorway, bashing down the wall. He sends himself flying through the exterior of the facility as he falls. Without the white panel walls, he can see what was hidden. He can see many of the rooms he has visited, now from the other side, seeing them move too with the elevators around the panelling. At the very bottom, right below him, he can see some sort of prison, infected held in cages, some monstrous, but most more human than the rest, trapped.

With what little senses he has left, he tries to make sense of this. However, he's given little chance as his focus turns to everything surrounding the facility, water. The entire facility is within some kind of bubble, all surrounded by a dark ocean floor and water, the sun barely visible at the top. He can see the very same hanger he left for many missions on, now seeing the real take off as a large tube reaches the surface with the flying vehicles through them. He's given one last push to run from Cynthia, back at where he jumped through the wall. "RUN STEVE," she yells at the top of her lungs as the scientists restrain her. Soon, soldiers come through the path and try to apprehend Steve, but he takes off for the hanger, hoping to reach one of the vehicles. Nothing seems right to him now, but all of his senses are telling him to run and don't look back.

He loses more and more of his mass as he runs, reverting to his normal form. By the time he reaches the hanger from above, he still has enough strength to rip a hole through it and jump down. However, from a great height, he's too weak to land safely and lands straight on his legs, breaking them on impact. Now, he struggles to move as his legs attempt to heal. With each second, they grow stronger, strong enough to stand and limp on. He rushes for a vehicle, any vehicle that flies. Suddenly, he feels a sharp pain in his shoulder. He looks to see a dart hit him. As he takes it out, his vision becomes blurry. He passes out.

He finally awakens, groggy as all hell, rubbing his forehead to relieve the pain. He manages to stand, supporting himself against a wall. He looks around to find himself in an unfamiliar room, nothing but a bed and a clear glass wall. His last thoughts flood back in, 'run, you have to leave,' causing him to punch at the glass. However, try as he might, it doesn't break. In desperation, he uses what control of his powers he has to enlarge his fist, throwing a massive hit, but nothing. Through the sounds of his attempts, he hears a voice.

"Don't bother, that glass was meant to keep you creatures in, you'd need a missile to even crack it."

Steve looks through the glass to see Verden, standing calmly on the other side.

"W-what happened, what have you done to me?!" Steve demands as he pounds his fists against the glass.

"What we did? It's what you did that caused this," he responds.

"What I… no, it was your machine that did this to me. It was taking her away."

"Oh, you mean that. Hmmm." Verden stood there for a great deal of time before he finally answered. "Well, I guess you should know the truth. It was making you… subservient in a way."

"It was making me your SLAVE!" Steve blurts out to that response.

"Oh, come now, Mr. Burnside, did you really think we could cure you. You died in the destruction of Rockford Island. Had it not been for the virus, you would have been gone completely. But you must understand, we do want what's best for the world."

"What's best," Steve couldn't understand what he was referring to. "How's this for the best?! You tried to control me."

"That's because we need loyalty and total control, something you failed to give us. I envision a world where humans are long gone, and only the true successors reign."

"So what?" Steve questions his plan. "You're trying to replace the world with mutates like us?"

Verden laughs with joy at something he finds so ridiculous. "No, you fool, nothings change, no matter how much you all have changed, how we all have changed. Deep down, you're still human, and it is in our nature to fight each other. That's why the true rulers will not be from us, but from them."

"Who are they?" Steve asks.

"I've wasted my time with you for long enough, but know this. You _WILL_ help us reach this goal, whether of your own will or not."

Before leaving, Steve asks him one more thing. "What happened to Cynthia?"

"Oh, her, right," he replies, "she's dead. Poor thing, we warned her not to care. With every new face she saw, she felt more and more guilty, I guess. I guess she thought you still had a chance to live. She betrayed us like you did, but this time, we didn't need her, unlike you."

He leaves Steve to fall to the floor in shock. All this time, he thought he wasn't doing good, only to have been helping another nut job who wants the world to end. He lays there, defeated, wishing he had died back then.


	6. Ch 6 Escape

It has been a week since Steve was captured a put in a prison. For most of this time, he has tried to find a way out, gaining the attention of anyone near him who were still sane enough to talk. However, most just looked at him, never speaking… or can't speak at all. Finally, one of them does. In his continued attempts to break the glass, a voice comes from the cell next him.

"Would you stop already?!"

He does so and tries to look at who he was talking to. However, he fails to see anything pass the glass. He tries talking to whoever it is.

"Who are you?" Steve asks.

"Names Hunter," he replies, "someone else is listening too, but he can't speak."

"Who else?"

"You can't see him. He's in the cell right above you."

"How can you even tell?"

"I got… heat vision or whatever. I can see his body temperature moving close to the floor now."

"That's thermal vision."

"Whatever, just stop the banging already."

Steve sits back against the bed before he continues talking. "Listen, Hunter, is there anyway out?"

"Yeah," Hunter replies, "die, or get dragged out the cells for experiments, but that's the worse option."

"Listen," Steve starts, yelling to anyone who listens, "one of you must know a way out of these cells at least. I can lead you to freedom, I know this place."

"That's not gonna work," Hunter replies. "We know you were tricked, some of us were in the same boat. Besides, anyone who could break out of these would be in a different cell all together. I'm sorry, really, I am, but we're done for."

Steve is shocked by the tone of his voice. He can tell he is someone who's been here for a while, long enough to understand the truth.

Within a day or so, a group of scientists in hazmat suits come by Steve's cell. He begins backing away in fear, recalling Hunter's warning. "Relax," one of the men says, "we're here for the one above you. Don't worry though, we got better plans for you." They all begin to laugh as the cell above Steve's comes out of the wall for them to reach into. When it goes back, Steve can see who was above him. The person was completely covered in sheets, hiding any detail, all except for a black sludge trail he left behind. The people are disgusted as one of them pulls out a tablet and uses it. The floor under the person comes out, floating him with it. "This'll leave less of a trail," one of them says as they take him to do experiments. Soon they said, Steve would be next.

Hours go by without anything happening, but for Verden and the other scientists, it was most important. They stand within an observation room, looking down to the floor below on the other side. In it stands the man, still cloaked, but with a similar device to the harness visible on him, attached to his chest. Verden looks to the lead scientist for reassurance. "I hope this goes better off than the previous experiment, Mr. Burnside showed great resistance to it."

"Don't worry, Mr. Verden," the scientist replies, "this subject has been with us for a great deal of time. Hopefully, his lack of willpower will make for a better test. Once manipulation is achieved, we'll be able to proceed to the phase two testing."

With that, each scientist prepares the recording equipment, making sure every moment of the experiment is catalogued. As before, the device is activated, causing the unknown liquid to course through his veins. He begins to buckle under his legs as they move with a will of their own. The man grabs his face in pain as he feels the effects of the liquid. At first, is seems to be working as he gains control of his body. Standing straight and intact. The scientists quietly cheer to themselves with success, only to be premature, failing to notice the mutations. The man's body begins to spasm out of control, he lets out a gastly scream as a mass of black tendrils shoot out of his body, enveloping him. He falls to the floor, showing no sign of life. With that, Verden storms off with disappointment and frustration, the lead scientist tries to stop him. "Sir, Wait?! We still have a chance, we just need more time to…," he's cut off as Verden leaves through the elevator. The lead scientist gets glances from his cohorts with concern and regret, all failing to notice the new activity. They turn back to find the body gone. The lead scientist rushes to the glass trying to find the creature on any monitor or corner. Suddenly, it appears right in front of him, sticking to the glass as a mass of flesh and tendrils bangs against it shattering it.

For Steve and the rest, they notice the commotion, a scent in the air that sends them on high alert, all finishing with a huge explosion in the distance. The walls shake with a violent force, overtaking the glass itself in Steve's cell, leaving a single crack in the center. Steve sees the damage and knows it's enough to escape. With what control he has, his fist begins to enlarge, growing spikes and developing a green tone before he smashes the glass with all his might. The crack becomes larger and larger as tension builds until, CRASH, it breaks. Before he's able to enjoy the freedom, another explosion goes off, right inside the area. Steve his taken by surprise as a blast of smoke and fire heads straight for him, knocking him to the ground and rolling on the floor. He manages to regain his balance, but he's unable to see through the smoke. He walks back to where his cell is to avoid the smoke, calling for Hunter. "Hunter, you still with us?!"

He stops as he sees the cause of the explosions, the same person who was dragged out of the cell. Steve steps away slowly, thinking he has gone berserk, only to see him stop in front of Hunter's cell. Hunter himself backs away as the man, using a few tendrils as limbs, begins digging into the metal around the glass, ripping the sheet away like it was nothing before moving aside, letting Hunter out. "Okay… that's good. Y-you still with me… buddy?" he talks to the man. The man is only able to nod, his face still obscured, showing he has some control. Hunter turns to Steve with excitement of freedom, showing the scales all over the right side of his face. "LOOK AT US! WE'RE FREE MEN NOW! LET'S GO!"

"W-wait," Steve stops him, "we need to free the others."

"We can't save everyone," Hunter replies, "we need to get out of here. Look, we have to leave before…," he's cut off as soldiers appear, laying down a spray of bullets to stop them. The two duck back into a cell, but the man takes the shots as they pass right through him. He proceeds to open another cell before he becomes enraged by the soldiers and charges them. He impales them on his tendrils, distracting the rest, giving Steve and Hunter the chance to escape. They notice what he's doing and take the chance, but not before Steve checks the other cell and pulls out the person in it, a young woman in tattered clothing.

Steve follows Hunter on impulse, unable to focus with the chaos not too far behind them. They head to the other side of the area to find two corridors on either side. Before Steve could ask, Hunter darts to the right one, leaving Steve far behind as he has to take the girl with him, holding her hand as she tries to keep up. "HUNTER?!" he calls out. "Where are we going?!"

"To the escape pods!" he replies.

"Escape pods?! Do you even know if this place has them?"

"Yeah, saw them a while back when they took me to one of the rooms. Let's just hope they didn't move them."

Steve feels less ensured with that comment before Hunter continues. "Besides, when a base like this is sinking, you know they have escape pods."

"It isn't sinking." Steve is corrected as a gush of water breaks through the roof above them, almost hitting them as they pass it and Hunter replies to his comment. "It is now."

They soon find themselves and the same surroundings Steve was in, the other side of the walls that moved. The damage caused by the man was far greater than either of them knew, finding his destructive path that lead to the cells, holes punched through the entire path. The facility is failing, scientists can be seen drowning as the rooms flood in, the water begins to rise, giving them little time. "Well," Hunter says, "the escape pods were here, but that was when this place wasn't in disarray."

They search desperately for the pods, looking to ever corner of the facility as it continues to flood. Suddenly, they hear crashing noises from behind them. They look out to see the man, dragging a large sphere behind himself with the tendrils. "I don't believe it," Hunter starts, "he has a pod. Let's go!"

The three dash over to him as he opens the hatchet from above allowing them to jump in. The man enters last as he closes the hatchet, locking it shut. Steve finally takes a breath of relief as he takes his seat, the pod containing six seats with a dashboard in the middle. However, he notices Hunter pressing every button, getting no response or even a flash of light. "Crap!" he yells.

"What's wrong?"

"This one's busted. Only the locks work. We need to find a new one." Hunter begins climbing out of the pod, only to be face to face with a raging torrent as the facility gives way and the water floods in. He immediately backs in and closes the hatchet as tight as possible.

"What's out there?" Steve asks.

He only gets one response from Hunter. "You might want to hold on."

They braise themselves as the flood hits them, sending the pod in a spin as the four hold on for dear life, feeling the force shift in a new direction every second. It goes on for minutes without end, water begins to leak, drop by drop, as they thrash above. Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the force finally stabilizes. They feel the shifting motion of the pod left and right as it shuffles to the surface. They dare not move in fear of causing more leaks. By the time the leaks stop, the shifting stops too and the water reaches their knees.

Steve, yet again, takes a breath of relief, as do his new friends. The man takes a chance and opens the hatchet, leaving everyone to stare out and find the night sky above them. They look out with such ahh, all except for Steve. He has no idea how long they stayed in the facility, not seeing the sky in years, maybe even decades for some of them.

For the next few hours, they did nothing but enjoy the bliss of the ocean, caring little about where they'll end up or if they'll find land, just enjoying the peace. For Steve, it was far more serious. He has nothing left now, no mission, no purpose, no home, not even a prison. All he has left are the memories he shared with Claire Redfield. Even with that only, he feels bliss. The moment takes him to a similar one, on a plane heading to a new problem. He can remember the touch of her skin, the scent of her hair, the beautiful color of her eyes, the temptation of her lips. Nothing but her with a hint of adolescent impulses, now the desires of a man. He's snapped out of it as the girl next to him shakes him awake. He jolts up with a shock and looks to her. She points at herself, trying to utter words, but only managing gargled responses. Hunter catches his attention with an answer.

"She can't speak. Actually, she hasn't spoken for a while in the facility. All I can remember is that her name is Lisa."

She points to him, gesturing he's right and points back at herself. Steve does his best to respond to her, a little unsure if she'll understand "everything" he'll say. "Steve," he points to himself.

Suddenly, scratching noises catch everyone off guard, drawing their attention to the wall of the pod as the man scratches something into it. When he finishes, it shows a name, "Ryan." He points to himself to tell everyone his name. Hunter shares his name too, leaving everyone now acquainted. As more time passes, Ryan uses his tendrils to drain the water out of the pod, leaving everyone soaking wet and freezing. Steve cuts his own arm to allow the blood to flow out and combust. He makes a small fire from his hand for them to warm up on. He himself, doesn't feel cold at all, his own blood keeping a constant temperature. Eventually, everyone drifts to sleep with Steve last. His concerns for the future keep him up much longer than everyone else, but he soon drifts to sleep too. However, before the tipping point, he can feel a tug on the pod, pulling it somewhere, before he's fast asleep.


	7. Ch 7 The Island

Disclaimer: Contains characters from another of my stories.

* * *

Steve bursts to life as he realizes what's happening around him, nothing. He doesn't feel the shaking sensation of the water, meaning the pod is on land. He jumps out of the pod to find himself on a rocky shore, the night still present. While everyone else remains asleep, he takes the chance to look around and find people. Not far from the shore, he finds a grassy path that leads to a cliff in the distance. On the cliff, he sees a large mansion with lights inside, showing signs of activity. Suddenly, he feels a small poke to the back. Before he could turn, he hears a voice that stops him. "Don't move. Who are you and where did you come from?" Steve turns his head to see a man, wearing an armored vest, holding a gun to his back. As he slowly raises his hands as a response, the man drops his guard for a moment, enough time for Steve to turn and grab his gun. The moment after, he socks the guy in the face. However, the man regains his composure like it didn't happen. Steve is taken by surprise as the man lands a hit on his chest, sending him flying and hitting the ground with a thud.

As Steve tries to stand, the man comes forward, more calm then expected. He extends his hand to Steve to help him up. "Sorry, I thought you were with someone else." Steve takes his hand and stands back up. He looks closer and realizes the man's skin has a tinge of blue, somewhat clear, partly showing his skull. "You're a mutate?" Steve asks with amazement.

"Yeah," the man replies. "The names Scott. Is anyone else with you?"

"Y-yeah. My friends are in the pod over there."

Steve takes Scott to the pod while Scott explains to him what the island is. "So, it's like this. I was wounded in a incident in China. I was with the B.S.A.A. before… this," he points to his face. "I would've died if it wasn't for Dylon and Deborah. They're the guys who live here."

"So," Steve asks, "what are you now then?"

"I'm sort of their body guard, for the moment."

They find of others crawling out of the pod and see them too. Hunter rushes over and confronts Scott with intrigue. "Hey, you… you're like us?! Is this another prison?"

"No," Scott replies, "but it could be your new home."

"Really," Steve asks, "how come?"

"Dylon wants to make a home for guys like us. If you need to, you're welcomed to stay."

"Well," Hunters thinks for a moment. "I didn't have a plan. That would be nice."

They introduce themselves to Scott and head for the mansion. They meet Dylon and Deborah, everyone was stunned by their… appearances, but were happy to accept their kind offer.

Steve waits with Hunter in the main hall on the walkway the floor above, waiting for Dylon to be finish checking on Lisa and Ryan's health. Scott confronts them with some questions from Dylon.

"Okay, so Dylon wants to know where you guys came from?"

Steve answers. "We came from a facility underwater controlled by Entity, heard of them?"

"Unfortunately," Scott replies. "You're with the right people. Dylon's nice, but he ever gets his hands on Verden, he'd rip him apart. We only started getting set up here, how did you escape?"

"Ryan sunk the place. He isn't on the stable side, could you help him?"

"Dylon is trying, but the vest-thing he's wearing won't come off."

"Don't mess with it too much. No telling what will happen to him if it comes off."

"One more thing," Scott waits for a moment before continuing. "What would you like for dinner?"

"Anything would be nice," Hunter replies, " the food back there was terrible."

"I'm not staying," Steve replies.

The two are taken by surprise by his comment. Steve notices the glances they give him, calling for a reason. "I'm sorry," he starts, "but… I rather not stay here. Don't get me wrong, Dylon seems like a nice guy and his home is beautiful. I'm well aware that there's little chance of a place like this being anywhere else out there, but I don't want to settle, not yet, at least. I need to find someone first, someone special to me. Claire Redfield, if I'm right."

Scott and Hunter look to each other before Scott answers. "Well… stay for dinner at least, then you can go. Good luck finding this Claire person."

For the next few hours, Steve stays long enough for dinner, getting to know Dylon and Deborah a little bit. He tells them of his plan to leave to find Claire, wherever she is. Dylon tells him he has a spare, makeshift boat not far from the shore. He tells Steve that it's okay for him to keep it, he can make another one. Within the hour, Steve heads off on his trip, having been given new clothes by Dylon, strange though since he doesn't wear any. As he leaves, however, Scott stops him for a moment to give him a gift, a small handgun, you can never be too unprepared. Steve accepts the gift and bids his farewell to his acquaintances, not much friends since he knows them the one time, but Dylon is happy to accept him if he returns. Now, with his path open with little in his way, he sets off to find the one person he truly cares for, Claire Redfield.


	8. Ch 8 Return

It's early in the morning, Claire finds herself blinded in the face by the sun's rays peeking through the openings in her windows. Try as she might to look away, it reminds her of the work she has at TerraSave, the human rights organization for the supplying and manpower to both organizations like the B.S.A.A. or the communities in need. Poor or small, it doesn't matter, TerraSave is to help people and counteract Bioterrorism. Nonetheless, it's still a job, and with all jobs, most people still feel the urge not to go, but for her, it's more than a job. She has lost many friends to the threats and viruses, some of whom were very special to her.

She heads down stairs in her home, a simple building in the neighborhood of her town, nothing special. With her is a small cat with milky white fur, her only company in the home. She gives her a small stroke on her back before heading to the kitchen and begins her morning. As she brews a cup of coffee and the cat eats her food from her bowl , she's reminded of the people she lost during her life. However, nothing compares to the loss of Steve Burnside, someone she lost long ago during the Rockford Island Incident. With what time she spent with him, she felt a connection to him. They had been through so much in that time, even to try and comfort him when he had to bring down his own zombified father. No matter how much time passes, the thoughts stay in her mind, wandering in and out at any possible moment. Out of everyone, she always goes back to the day she lost him, knowing how he felt about her, overcoming the mutations to protect her. As always, she has to continue with her day, waiting for the thoughts to pass, just another day.

The day goes by like any other, with all the help they do, it's more so paperwork and hours in a chair. Claire sometimes wishes things could change, but the last time she thought that, the place was attacked and she and a group of her co-workers were taken to an island against their will, careful what you wish for. However, she can't question the bliss it brings to have no worries about any creatures coming after her. She takes in the utter normalcy of the office. The other people working in the cubicles, the simple chatter for any plans or events, even the window washers on the outside reaching her floor, simple parts of life. However, she's taken by surprise when she notices the two window washers. One of them doesn't look right, in fact, he's looking right at her. She rubs her face for a moment before looking back to see he's gone, just the one now. One of her office buddies takes notice of her confusion. "What's wrong," he asks, "worried the guy will fall?"

"N-no," she stutters for a moment. "I thought I saw another person with him. Long hair and… just looking at me."

"Really?" he replies with surprise. "That guy always works alone. Never seen anyone else with him. Saw him early on the top floor, no one else."

Claire looks back to where she saw the second person, but soon brushes it aside as there's still work to do.

When the day is done, she takes the opportunity without question, seeing as it's the weekends and she plans to use a vacation day to relax. She heads down to the buildings parking lot and gets to her car. Only a few others are still around, she still had more work to finish before leaving, using some time. She struggles to find the keys in her purse, ending up dropping them with a rushed tug. The image from earlier hangs in the back of her mind, so she's a little unedged, worried about the unhealthy thoughts being the reason. When she looks back to the moment, the man seemed oddly familiar, but different. The hair was a concerning giveaway, the same orange color as…. She stops as she sees a figure at the corner of her eye, but as she turns to see who it is, it's gone in an instant. Without delay, she gets in her car and drives off in a bit of a hurry.

She plans to stop off at a sandwich joint to get a quick bite before heading home, unaware of the figure travelling behind in the crowds of people on the sidewalks. He keeps his distance and stays out of sight, yet managing to keep pace with the car. Suddenly, he sees her drive into a small alley parking area. He darts around the corner to find the car at the other end, but Claire was missing. He rushes over to the car to see if there was any signs of a struggle. Without warning, he receives a kick to the back off the head, knocking him to the floor. As he turns over to face up, he sees his attacker, Claire. She places her foot over his neck to keep him down as she starts talking. "Who the hell are you? Why are you following me?!"

He taps at the side of her leg to let her know he can't breath. With hesitation, she backs away, staying on guard for anything he has as he stands back up. He dusts himself off before answering. "I'm really sorry, I just didn't know how to explain this."

"Explain what?" Claire asks with confusion.

The man lifts his head up to show her his face, something she never thought she'd see again, it was Steve. She stares at him in silence, trying to make sense of what she sees, is it really him? She soon begins to fall in shock, but Steve catches her before she hits the floor. "HEY?! Be careful," he stands her back up as she wobbles on her feet, "just… stay calm… and…," he's cut off as she throws herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding on for dear life, thinking if she let go, he'd be gone. Without a second thought, he clings to her to, actually picking her up and spinning in a circle with joy. They soon let each other go as Claire grips his face, inspecting every detail. "It's… is it really you, Steve?" she begins to tear up.

"Yes," he replies, "it's me." He tears up as well. They soon embrace each other again, Steve holding Claire close to himself as he stands over her, being much taller than before.

Everything after that went by in a flash. She had so many questions for him, so much lost time, so many things unsaid, but like a moment in a movie, it had to wait until they were in a safer place. Steve warned her that it would be too risky to be out in the open like this, even as he was sneaking around was risky. With unbridled will power, Claire managed to wait the entire time, continuing with her day, getting her food, driving home, and sitting at the dinner table. She waited there for what felt like an eternity as neither had anymore courage to ask the other any questions.

She sits right in front of him, staring at him with unknown intent, as does he to her. Everything is so quiet and lifeless, as if they were both statues. They are shocked out of it as Claire's cat jumps on the table, sitting down in front of Steve. He looks at the cat and tries petting her, receiving a good response as the cat purrs with pleasure. Claire reaches for the cat and puts her in her lap. Finally, Steve says something, "Don't tell me you're a crazy cat-lady now, are you?" All he receives his laughter as she tries to contain herself. She calms down enough to answer him with sarcasm. "We finally meet again, after so many years, after what has happened, and that's the first thing you say?"

They both break out laughing at the thought and soon find the courage from before. Steve starts with his whole story, every detail possible. He tells her about Entity, the missions, the experiments, everything up to leaving Dylon's island. All she gathered though was that he was captured, experimented on, and escaped. As for Entity, there's no company on record with that name, not even a Verden on record, leaving that to be a dead end trail. Claire tells her side of the story, everything that has happened in her life, the friends she made and lost, her progress to combat bioterrorism. Steve becomes concerned with her comments of fighting infections, she forgetting the situation he's in now. She questions him on it. "So, somewhere out there are people like you?"

"Yes," he replies, "some of them are locked up, like I was. Others roam around and look for a place to call home. The last ones I was with were the ones on the island. They want to make it a refuge for others."

"Why didn't you stay? It would have been better for you, so you wouldn't have risked capture."

"Because…," he reaches out his hand to hers and holds it tight, "I wanted to see you again."

Claire begins to blush at his response, but soon starts pulling away until her hand is free. "Steve…," she finds the words to be choking her up. "I've missed you so much. You were young and… thrusted into a place where you suffered. You didn't deserve any of it, you were another victim. You have no idea how much it means to me to know you're still alive, in the flesh," she reaches back to his hand. "I was so heart broken. I thought I could move on, but the memories always popped up. I was reminded of that horrible event. It's just… it's like a fairy tale that came to life, but… this isn't that simple. Please, there has to be a way to cure you, anything."

"No… I can't," Steve replies. "I've been like this for so long, this power and what it gives me, but it's nothing compared to how I feel for you. I wish I could give it up, I want my normal life back, but I don't have a choice, I don't even know if it ever was a choice." He begins standing, becoming frustrated by the thought of it. His body begins to change, the spikes on his shoulders protrude from his coat, his skin becoming greener, he grows taller and more bulky.

"I never wanted this, I didn't want to be made a weapon, but… those bastards," he kneels to the floor and hits the ground with his hands repeatedly. "I trusted them, NOW LOOK AT ME, I'M JUST ANOTHER MONSTER! I thought you would've hated it, I thought you'd never wanted to see A FREAK LIKE ME AGAIN! BUT I DIDN'T… I COULDN'T WALK AWAY."

"You were always with me, every moment of this life. All those thoughts, everything, it kept me together.I… I WANTED TO SEE YOU, I WANTED TO KNOW YOU WERE ALRIGHT, I COULDN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU! I… I… I LOVE YOU, BUT YOU COULD NEVER LOVE A FREAK LIKE ME, I KNOW IT. TELL ME, PLEASE, I DON'T CARE WHICH, I WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH. YOU'D NEVER LOVE A FREAK LIKE ME!"

He fails to notice anything around himself, the cracks in the floor, his mutations, the tears streaming out of his eyes. He wanted to leave, he wanted to get out. I doesn't want to see the horror in her eyes at this. Before he could to anything, he sees her jump for him, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding him close. He stares off into oblivion to what she tells him, hanging onto every word. "NO," she yells in a sobbing manner, "YOU'RE NOT A MONSTER, I LOVE YOU TOO! I… I've missed you for so long, I never wanted to forget about you. I don't care what happens to you, because behind this," she refers to his state now, "deep down, is still the same person. You… you were scared and alone, no one to help you, afraid of losing the people you cared for, I know how you feel. I could never hate you, no matter what you became. You're still Steve Burnside, the person I love, that's all that matters."

She finally loosens her grip as she calms down, as does Steve. She looks up to him, seeing his reptilian-like face. She reaches up to him to pull him down for a kiss, no care as to how it feels. As he reverts back to normal, he holds her close as he embraces her, kissing back. All of his pent up emotions, his fears, they're gone. All he feels now is the warm touch and soft texture of her lips, he enjoys every moment of it. What seemed like an eternity finally stops as he fully returns to normal. They kneel on the floor, looking to each other for comfort, unable to let the other go. Steve finds himself stammering to tell her something. "I… I don't want to be without you. I don't want to leave you again."

"It's okay," she tells him, "it doesn't matter how, but we'll make it work, I promise. Whatever danger comes, we'll face it together, no matter what."

The rest of the afternoon was spent with moments of awkward encounters and genuine love for the two them. For both of them, the moment felt fulfilling, but it also felt as though things wouldn't adjust until the next day. For the time, they spent time going over the house, where Steve could sleep, and what he could do in the time being. For once in his new life, Steve feels like he has a normal life. He sees that Claire actually has a little trouble cleaning around the house and looking after her cat, who she says is called Mitten. She tells him that she recently moved out of an apartment complex and was still learning how to deal with extra rooms and new bills, but Steve was happy to help any way he could. They decided he would stay inside most of the time to clean around the home and get adjusted to living with her. He makes a few jokes about being her maid now, but in truth, he couldn't be any happier now.

The day is almost over, the moon takes its position in the sky as Claire and Steve prepare for bed. In truth, Steve didn't really need to sleep, his body has too much energy and requires less rest, making him something of a night person. He walks upstairs to his room to call it a night, unaware of Claire walking through the hallway naked after taking a shower. He looks away as she hurries to cover up. "Sorry?!" he blurts out, "I didn't…," he's stopped by Claire's response. "No, I'm sorry. I'm not use to anyone else being around."

Steve can feel is heart racing at the moment, the same feeling he had years ago, only much greater. His embarrassment is soon replaced by an instinctual desire. He goes up to her and holds her close, catching her by surprise. "Steve, what are…," she's cut off as he pulls her head up for a kiss. Within moments, she refuses to fight back and lets it happen. They both feel the need to release more pent up emotions, and something else. She leads him to her bed, causing him to pick her up and lying her on top of it. He removes his clothes with haste, breathing deeply as his now naked body hovers over her. He gives her a kiss on the neck, closely trailing down as his hands begin to explorer. Neither of them say a thing as the moment lasts longer and longer, her towel is tossed aside, no care in the world now. From then on, most of the night in her house is filled with the moans of pleasure and ecstasy, leaving nothing to stop it.


	9. Epilogue

Three years go by in a flash, some of the best time in Steve's new life. He awakens from his bed, enjoying the life he has made with the person he loves. He finds Claire asleep next to him. He gets up quietly so not to disturb her, especially on a weekend. He puts on his clothes and starts tip toeing out of the room to one of the other rooms, unaware of Claire sturring awake. Steve enters a new room, painted like the sky with fluffy clouds, a crib in the middle of it. He leans over it to see the baby awake, now standing on her tiny feet. She's only about a year or so old, calling out to her father. "P...papa." Steve picks her up and brings her out. "Hi, Kira, how are you?" he says with a quiet voice as he gives her a little tickle on the chin, making her giggle.

"How's my two favorite people in the world today?" Claire says from behind Steve, catching him by surprise.

"Sorry I woke you up," he replies.

"It's fine," she says, "I'm always happy to see my little angel in the morning," she takes Kira and holds her in her arms. "So, what do you want to do today, my husband?"

"Well, my wife," Steve replies, "I was thinking we could go to the beach," he looks out the window, towards the coast. "It should be nice and…"

He stops as he notices the plume of smoke in the far distance. Claire notices it too, making her worry. "Steve, what is that?"

Steve rushes down stares and turns the t.v. onto the news, finding out what was happening. The t.v. anchorman reports the appearance of a massive B.O.W. out of the ocean, destroying a great deal of the coastal cities. Even though they live miles away from the coast, the smoke is still visible. He rushes back to Claire and holds her close. "Claire, I'm gonna go take a look at what's happening. Don't leave."

"Steve," she whispers to him, "I'm sorry, but… it's kind of my job to help."

He cracks a smile at that before planting a kiss on her forehead. "Not today. If it's Entity, it's my time to go." He heads down stairs, reaching for his coat on a coat rack near the door and begins walking out. On his way out, he shouts to her. "JUST KEEP KIRA SAFE,OK?"

"RIGHT," she shouts back.

In an hour or two, Steve reaches the devastation, the scent in the air rotten with flesh, buildings toppled like nothing, the B.S.A.A. struggling to keep the public at bay as many want to find lost loved ones, all too focused to see Steve jump over all of it. As he gets closer to the center, the infection becomes worse and worse. He sees piles of corpses, both of the infected and normal, some of which were the B.S.A.A.. However, he notices something strange amongst them, some were dressed like militia, people armed with rocket launchers and have grey skin. They look infected, but it didn't appear to be like the other corpses. Suddenly, he hears a gunshot from ahead and he turns to see surviving B.S.A.A. soldiers.

Steve dashes away, not wanted to be captured as they attempt to chase after him. His enhanced speed puts him far ahead of the soldiers, but that's soon put to a halt. He looks back to see if he lost them, only to be close lined to the ground. He hears guns train on him, causing him to stand and strike back. In a fraction of a second, he rips at his arm, letting blood spill out and combust, causing his attackers to back away. He looks to his attackers and stands in shock at a familiar face. Ahead of the rest of them stands the man Steve knows from Claire, her brother, Chris Redfield. He raises his gun to Steve ready to fire. Steve yells out in response. "WAIT?! DON'T SHOOT!" he raises his hands in the air, "IT'S ME, STEVE BURNSIDE. THE PERSON WITH CLAIRE BACK THEN, remember?!"

Chris stops for a moment, recalling that name and looking at him more closely. Suddenly, a woman from behind him gets between them, telling him to back down, she's looks familiar to Steve. "Wait. Don't shoot. That… Steve, I know him." Everyone else soon backs down as she gets closer to him as the flames die down. "You remember me? Woman from prison, remember?"

The memory flashes by Steve as he recalls her from long ago, however, she was far more quiet than this before. Without warning, more soldiers come in from behind, lead by yet another familiar face to Steve. "Holy crap," one of them calls out, "it is you." Steve turns to see Scott and Hunter, people he'd never thought he'd see again. Chris gestures to his men to stay back as he gets closer to Steve, making sure it's really him. Steve turns back to him, only a few feet away before Chris raises his hand to his men. "Stand down," he orders them.

"I'm sorry," Steve begins to say, "but… what are you guys doing out here?" he gestures to Hunter and the others.

"What are we doing out here?" Scott starts. "What are _YOU_ doing out here?! Last we saw you, you went out to find Claire Redfield."

"Claire?" Chris overhears them, "What are you doing looking for my sister?" he confronts Steve with a hint of concern.

Steve never thought this moment would come. "Oh, well… the thing is… your not gonna shoot me if I tell you anything… extreme, right?"

"Whyyy?" Chris becomes a little aggravated.

"What was it," Hunter intrudes, "about three years ago. You went looking for her, right? Any luck or were you staying with her all this time, if you know what I…," he stops as he realizes how idiotic it would be to say it now. "OH?! No offensive, Captain Redfield, it's just this guy wanted to find her for something… that came out wrong."

"Well," Chris restrains himself, "I'm sure my sister can better explain this later. Right now, we need to take down any hostels still present. Think you can help us, Burnside?"

"Y-yes, Chr… Redfield… Sir… uh…," Steve isn't sure what to call him, settling on a nod.

Chris pulls him aside for a moment. "When this is over, you better explain yourself. But tell me, what are you two hiding?"

"Well… you see… to put it nicely, you're… an uncle now."

As many times before, Steve will find a way to work this out, he always does. Then again, he always had the option to run. This time, he must stay, at the risk of being shot by his brother-in-law.


End file.
